Responibility Mine
by Mello-Drama-Reborn
Summary: The organization has assigned everyone partners in order to make up for the loss of manpower from Castle Oblivion, and Saix is mortified to discover he has been paired with Demyx. Unexpectedly, they may somehow bring out the best in each other, or at least hold back the worst. Currently friendship, but may turn romantic in later chapters.
1. Introduction

If Saix had feelings, perhaps his fingers would be trembling from anger. The orders that he had been given were not only completely absurd, but were triggering his paranoia to the point that even without a heart it was hard not to show some signs of worry.

"Heeey, Saix; got the new partner assignments?"

Yes, it had all seemed simple enough. With the unfortunate loss of the teams from Castle Oblivion (thank goodness that he had no heart, or his lack of concern would be toxic), the Superior had decided that, rather then spread the work out more among the remaining members, they might instead try to make up for the lack of manpower by combining their unique abilities.  
But the assignments had not gone as Saix had expected. Despite being second in command, there were things that Saix didn't get a say in; if he tried, perhaps his power-playing would be noticed. He thought the results would be predictable enough, anyhow.

Unfortunately, they were not at all what he had expected.

"So, when do we leave?" Axel, tired from Saix's silence, gave him a confident smirk. Yes, he knew that confidence, back when he never thought he'd regret holding the urge to meddle.  
Saix gave his old friend a look that he hoped conveyed his "feelings"; theoretically, though they felt real enough. Frustration, regret, even worry. Either his guess was true or Axel was just as dense as usual because he only got a smirk back.  
"Hey, what's with the silent treatment?" Axel made some sort of move to hit him on the head or something, he never finished his gesture because Saix caught him hard on the wrist.  
"You have been assigned to accompany Xaldin, _not me_."  
"Then who..?"  
"_Demyx_."  
Axel's look of disbelief was, in a word, relatable.

Saix had been forbidden from peeping at the partner assignments, which was why they were marked individually, instead of in pairs, but of course, he had read them anyway. They weren't exactly sealed, and he had gotten them in advance; certainly Xemnas knew that he would.  
It would have been obvious for Saix and Axel to be together. It was a matter of who worked well together, efficiently. The two had arrived together. It was simple logic. The only reason that Saix could think of for that _not_ to be the case is if his role in second-in-command made it more desirable he be paired with some sort of problem-member that needed watching.  
Well, yes, Demyx was no doubt a problem. But no problem that Luxford couldn't have delt with. Or anyone besides him, really.  
The only reason that Saix could think of was either there was a terrible mistake (he checked, it wasn't), or he was being purposely separated from Axel. Which meant that Xemnas had already caught onto their plans, and now, Saix was being punished in the worst way imaginable.

"Oh, get that look off your face. I mean, I'm not thrilled either, but I'm more scared for him than you."  
"Easy for you to say." Axel was paired with a member of the original six; which could mean he was being watched. No reason to doubt it; he had eliminated Zexion.  
Axel sighed, apparently catching onto Saix's mood.  
"How about you stop worrying and tell him? No use putting off the inevitable, right?"  
"When it's him, yes, I think there is. Every second I don't spend conversing with that imbecile is another second I can keep my sanity."  
"You're acting like a girl, Isa~."  
The comment should have annoyed him, but hearing Axel address him like he did when they were childhood friends somehow put him at ease, clearing his mind enough to realize, yes, there is no use putting off the inevitable. If someone was going to volunteer to start the mission, it sure as hell wasn't going to be him.

Despite this, Saix still made a point of leaving Demyx for last, if only to get going as soon as the assignment was given and therefore avoid giving instead a chance for Demyx to run of. Or complain.  
He made his way around the room, handing out the small sheets of paper with the mission details. The keybarers were paired up, as efficiency would suggest. Finally, when there was no avoiding it, he approached Demyx; on the couch, one leg over an armrest, playing music that Saix had long since learned to tune out.  
"Demyx, your assignment."  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll look at it a little later, okay?""I'll be ready to leave as soon as you are. I hope you won't try my patience."  
"Wait- WHAT?" Finally, you got his attention.  
Demyx frantically read his mission details (well ain't that a killer), reading the statement that had disturbed Saix so greatly.  
_"You will be partnered with Saix (VII), and in addition to your stated mission objectives, will be in charge of keeping him in check."_  
Saix had a similar statement on his own mission statement, _"keep him in check"_, and he knew what it meant. Demyx's, however, confounded him. _Was Demyx, of all people, expected to keep tabs on him?_  
"Oh no, oh no no nonono, this has got to be a mistake," he looked up at Saix as if asking for mercy. "Am I right?"  
"It's not._ I checked_."  
Demyx winced as if he had been physically wounded by the comment. Hypocritical.  
"Again, I'm ready when you are. Do not keep me waiting."

Saix stalked towards the head of the room, not expecting to see Demyx ready for quite some time, despite his warning.


	2. The First Mission

"Soo, " Demyx looked at Saix a bit nervously, never usually letting himself spend more time with the bluenette than was absolutely necessary, "How do you... normally go about this?"  
"About _what?_"  
Demyx took a shakey step back, rocking back and forth a bit. He had asked one question, but the guy was already pissed at him!  
"You know, like... Missions." "You stand aside, and I'll do the fighting." Demyx was about to ask "no really-", but the look on Saix's face said that he was serious.  
Well, that was about the best plot twist he's ever seen.  
"O-K then, lead the way!"

The mission was relatively simple. Since neither of them were capable of collecting hearts, the other members' job was usually to ensure there were hearts left in a world to collect. Often, a world with too many built up heartless would also accumulate stronger, carnivorous heartless that would eat the others. They're not sure if the hearts get transferred when that sort of thing happens, but they'd rather not risk it.

It wasn't long until the two encountered a large batch of heartless, including a decent gathering of the kind described in their agenda.  
Saix's fingers itched to summon his blade, but he held himself back.  
"Demyx, use your water to separate the target heartless."  
"What? I thought you said I wouldn't be working!" He looked tired already, and they had only been walking.  
"I said you wouldn't be fighting. Now do as I say, and keep out of my way."

Once his weapon was out and expanded, Saix no longer "saw". Nor did he think, or plan, or do anything besides move and fight. Going berserk was a powerful experience, so fast and full of adrenaline.  
He body moved by itself, from target to target, his giant claymore cutting apart the relatively higher-leveled heartless with ease. The whole world spun and swung to his bidding, his senses dulled to everything except that fury so powerful it may as well not even be there, may as well be breathing. It was an endless, spinning dash of killing and swinging his claymore and Saix felt _alive _and Saix didn't care about anything else.

Demyx watched as Saix charged through the heartless like it was nothing, and something in him was terrified as he showed no chance of slowing down even as their numbers began dwindiling. Saix had swung by him once or twice, but a heartless had always been closer and he had winced only for the berserker to charge away just as fast. Geez, it was scary though. His eyes were glowing like headlights and his hair was standing up like some animal trying to make itself look big and threatening and it sure as hell worked.  
Saix started charging at him a third time, but as he looked around, there were no enemies in sight. The heartless on the other side of his water barrier were scrambling away as fast as they could, and while his feet begged him to do the same, his sitar appeared out of nowhere and suddenly the great wall of water that had been separating Saix from the weaker heartless was wrapping around Demyx like a shield.

Saix hit the water hard, but all the water did was slow his momentum. It was terrifying, watching through the water at Saix as he senselessly cut and recut through the ever-regenerating wall. Demyx could see him getting tired out, but at the same time he wondered if Saix would even notice if he died of exhausting while he was in that state, and before he even finished thinking that thought the wall of water was moving forward and falling over Saix with that unexpected weight that water has, and Demyx definitely did _not_ mean to attack that raging maniac and he finally started running, but when he looked back Saix was just sitting there in a big puddle and Demyx slowed down and looked back because maybe, just maybe, he would not be killed by his teammate quite yet.

The glow had faded from around his eyes, and his hair lay flat and lifeless against his skill, weighted down by moisture. As Demyx tiptoed closer, he could see that his shoulders were shaking, maybe from exhaustion or maybe fury (damn he hoped it wasn't fury).  
Readying his muscles to high-tail it, Demyx tentatively called out "Hey, uh, you okay?"It was only then that Demyx realized that he was _laughing._  
"Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before." For once, Demyx's cheesy grin and overly casual tone did nothing to purturb the Lunar Diviner, he could probably even have thrown something the guy was laughing so hard now.  
Wiping a tear from his eye (really, he was crying!?), Saix finally caught his breath enough to comment "so... that's what they meant." And then he was laughing again, and Demyx finally let his muscles relax and decided to go over and help the guy up, because, despite seeing him at his scariest a few minutes before, he didn't look all that scary right now.


	3. RTC

For whatever reason, they didn't RTC right away. Saix was still catching his breath, whether from the laughter or the battle, and the heartless knew better to approach them by now so there was no need to rush out anyway.  
Saix had already started to remove the humor from his face, as if his giant laugh attack had never happened. Ever since his odd comment, he'd been nearly silent, leaving Demyx to fidget uncomfortable next to him, glancing hurriedly but uninterestedly around the unfamiliar planet.

"Will you quit hopping around so much? The ground will not burn you, trust me."  
"I know, you've just been standing there for the past forever!" Demyx was still getting a feel for conversing with Saix; he usually avoided casual conversation, but if they were going to be partners then he was going to have to let loose sometimes.  
"Well in that case, maybe we should leave." He started walking away, back the way they had come, and Demyx wondered why they didn't just call up a new portal right next to them so they didn't have to walk again.  
"Geez, were always such a grump?" Despite the obvious rhetoric of the question, Saix looked as if he was actually thinking about it, before finally replying, "No, I guess not."  
"What? No fair man; in that case, why don't you just dump the grump?" Demyx's wordplay apparently was not appreciated, because Saix's scowl only deepened.  
"Without hearts, we have a choice in how we act; how and what we react_ to. _I've found that more gets done when I refrain from indulging in reminiscent habits." He gestured towards Demyx, smirking a bit. "You may as well be exhibit A."  
Demyx scoffed in false shock. "Well, then, what do you call your little laugh-attack back there?"  
"When I..." Saix suddenly looked a bit less lively, which made Demyx realize that, yes, he had been emoting a bit a second ago. "When I'm... like _that_, I become a bit more suspectable to showing emotion. It helps bring back the sense of normalcy." Demyx remembered how Saix looked while he was going berserk and suddenly wondered what that must have felt like, being some sort of unstoppable killing machine. He shook his head quickly, those types of thoughts were way too intense for Demyx to handle.

If Saix noticed Demyx's train of thought, he made no comment, and Demyx hardly realized they had finally made it to the portal until he was stumbling into the darkness.  
"Geez, this is why I don't think!"  
He at least got a little bit of a laugh for that, and Demyx almost thought that being partners with Saix wouldn't be the most awful thing ever to happen to him.

Saix looked around the commons room, returning from the odd feeling of his first of hopefully _very few_ partner missions with Demyx, and to no one's surprise, neither Axel, nor either of the keybarers had arrived from their own missions.

"Hey, you know, we could get our own place." Saix gave Demyx a glare for guessing his thoughts, for butting in when he should no longer be a conscious part of his life, there were were now more important things possessing him.

"We? As in, us? You and me? That seems hardly likely, or even smart of you."

For some reason or another, Saix was still emoting, but Demyx didn't mind the sting of his over-sharpened sarcasm. He was even starting to recognize what it looked like, what _he_ must've looked like when he was alive. He knew Saix was the person who gave out all the missions, but hardly ever went on any; the person who never emotes in conversation, but fights with nothing but emotion; the person who is always honest, but also sarcastic. And Demyx was liked knowing who he finally was, instead of that terrifying guy who gave out all the missions, and who never emoted in conversation, and who was always honest.


	4. Questions-Answers

It was starting to become regular routine now.  
"Demyx." A smack of a mission report. "Get up and be ready in under ten minutes." The paper falling into his lap, he lazily reads it to see what he needs while he groggily lifts himself from the couch.  
"Ouch. I feel sorry for you, Demyx."  
Demyx gives a dumb smile to Xigabar, who, despite making the comment, has a look on his face that says he isn't sorry at all.  
"Aw, he's not actually all that bad.."  
Demyx thinks he sees Saix twitch from across the room. It just makes him smile more.

While Demyx is bartering with the moogle, then with Roxas for a spell he wants for the mission, Saix thinks Axel may have given him some sort of look, but maybe it's wishful thinking.

After the first time though, it's different. When Saix is on his rampages, and Demyx knows now that he may be a target, and he knows he should be running, it takes a lot less than this to get him into a tactical retreat, but for some reason he still can't move his feet, and it's probably for the best because Saix is just going for anything that moves.  
And when there isn't anything left moving, then he goes for Demyx, and Demyx is really wondering why he isn't moving yet because his feet say run but his water has a will of it's own now and it's crashing over Saix and now Saix is a soggy mess but at least he's calm now, and wow he's breathing hard and he isn't laughing, and there's water on his cheeks and Saix will say it's just water but Demyx wonders if he's crying again, like the first time that seems like such a long time ago.

One day, Demyx finally brings up the nerve to ask the question that he's had since all the way back then.  
"Hey, what is it like? Doing that?" Demyx is picking a soaking Saix off the ground, but Saix doesn't feel like getting up and he's propping his head up on Demyx's shoulder and now he can really hear how hard he's breathing.  
"It's... terrifying." His voice is quiet, but his mouth is right by Demyx's ear so he can hear every dip in his ragged voice. "I don't remember anything... I just lose myself..." Demyx feels Saix's chin bury a little deeper into his shoulder, and Demyx resists the urge to comment on how wet he was getting because of him.

"I don't get it man, it's like- I dunno. It's like a magnet or something. It's so weird, am I right?"  
Someone had finally asked why Saix always come back soaked (and really, how many people could had done it?), which had led Demyx on a rant about the weird phenomenon with his water.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Zexion had lifted his head, and Demyx cringed. He wished this guy was as gloomy and antisocial as he looked, the the bookish nobody was by far the mosst long-winded of the group. "Water is attracted to the moon's gravity. It's why the tides change. Saix doesn't use his element in the same way that most of us do, but the moon is still his element. Perhaps one could say he simply becomes his element, and its his gravity that takes control of your water."  
Demyx straightened from his easygoing slouch.  
"Wait- so you're saying he takes my powers or something?"  
"No- no I didn't mean it quite like that, though perhaps that's a possibility as well. I was meaning to say more that your water was drawn to his gravity; similar to your magnet comparison from earlier." But the image of Saix consciously _taking_ his water was already in his head. Demyx couldn't help but imagine Saix, in that desperate state, somehow pulling the water over him in an attempt to stop himself.

"Hmph, so I was right." Demyx nearly jumped off the couch when Saix's voice suddenly appeared behind him.  
Suddenly Demyx remembered what Saix had said on that first mission, in the midst of his laughter. _"So... that's what they meant."  
_"Wait- what? I don't get it- right about what?" He had a feeling he knew the answer, but Demyx looked quickly between Saix and Zexion anyway. Even if Saix was the one that knew the answer, Zexion was always willing to offer explanation. Even as Zexion was about to launch into one, however, Saix cut him off.  
"It's nothing." He gave a sharp look to Zexion. "And it's especially not the business of other pairs."

At that, Saix left the commons room. Even though he was walking, it looked like he was moving with a forced calm, and a combination of curiosity and concern drove Demyx onto his feet to go after him.  
The two walked briskly down a long hallway in silence, perhaps neither sure where they were going or if they were supposed to be going together. Eventually, however, Saix stopped, and Demyx had to slow down a bit because Saix had been moving faster the longer they had walked, but Demyx came to an unsteady stop beside him.  
"Mind telling me why you've been following me, Demyx?"  
Demyx put on a mock calm, but while his was obvious, Demyx knew that Saix had one on as well.  
"Mind telling me where you were going? That was certainly a walk, you know. In fact, I think that's enough exercise to last me the rest of the year!" Demyx's casual humor was jarring in the silent hallway, and he felt himself become more serious as the quiet stretched out with no reply. "I just wanted to know what you were saying back there... I mean, it is my business, am I right?"  
Saix sighed, still unwilling to answer him even though they were alone. He swallowed his pride, however, and looked at him with calm, uncaring eyes, as if the explanation really meant nothing to him, just everything else wasn't supposed to, even as he was beginning to learn how wrong that was.  
"Demyx," he breathed the word out, finally past the point of no return, "do you remember what it said, on that first mission statement?"  
"Huh?" Demyx searched his mind, resisting the urge to search his pockets as well for the small cue card he probably never got rid of. "Oh- you mean the thing about keeping you under control? Yeah, that was good for a laugh." Again, his humor felt painful against the strained atmosphere of the hallway.  
"Well, it wasn't a joke, nor was it senseless, as I first thought." Demyx could tell that it was getting harder for him to explain, he was getting more reluctant and whatever words were coming next were the hardest for him to say. "With your special abilities... You might be the only one capable of stopping me."  
There was some shame in his voice. Demyx wasn't sure if Saix was ashamed that Demyx was the one he needed, or if he was ashamed he needed to be stopped at all. Either way, Saix no longer felt like talking and continued at his quick walk down the hall, and Demyx no longer felt the need to follow him.

Even though they weren't nearly as upsetting to Demyx as they were to Saix, Demyx still found himself wondering about the meaning of those words even as he entered his room to get a brief and meaningless sleep.  
_"With your special abilities...You might be the only one capable of stopping me."_  
Well, that wasn't _exactly_ true. The unfortunate few who had sparred with Saix had figured out that his berserk-mode seemed to stop if he was hit with a considerable impact. But it was true that for the sake of teamwork, being hit by a wave worked considerably better than being hit with anything the others might've thrown at him.  
But then again, the way his water was drawn to him... Maybe he was the only one.  
What would anyone else had done, dealing with Saix's berserks? Would they have thought to stop him? Would they have fallen for him? Left him?  
Demyx feel into sleep with these thoughts swirling around in his head, and for a moment he even briefly thought to himself that he may had thought more that night than he had the entire rest of the time he'd been in the organization.


	5. Changes

The next day, things were different.  
Saix still came with the mission report, but he was a little less casual, a little less impatient, and sure; Demyx had thought about their brief conversation a good deal, but it was nothing reason to start acting all weirdly on him.  
On the other hand, there was no whining or procrastination from Demyx's end. It wasn't obedience or fear, or even awkwardness. It was closer to eagerness. Perhaps, even a feeling of responsibility.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this prompt." Saix was being quiet as they stepped through the portal.  
"Well it's... I don't know, I feel like you're my responsibility somehow."  
Saix bristled, still a bit sensitive after their talk the previous evening.  
"Since when have you been responsible for me!? Don't let yesterday go to your head!"  
"No no!" Demyx put his hands up defensively, taking a few steps away from the short-tempered nobody. "It's just like this... internalized sense of duty. I can't help it. Maybe it's like my water? You know, kinda drawn to you on it's own?" Demyx became aware that he was talking himself into a corner and quickly stopped himself, turning away to visually end the train of thought. Turning away only made his mental state worse, however, as Demyx could no longer tell how Saix was going to react. "_What if he snaps and I don't see? I don't want to be eaten alive!"  
_"You're mumbling again."  
Demyx peered over his shoulder to see Saix's face was one of relatively good humor. He let himself take an exaggerated breath out.  
"Funny, I used to find those odd habits of yours utterly irritating," at this, Demyx stumbled back as if stuck, which in a way only proved Saix's point, "but now I almost find them comforting. If not amusing at your expense."  
Demyx found himself grinning, even as he thought of doing the opposite. Saix was emoting again, though he wasn't sure what prompted it, Saix was definitely more fun when he was expressing himself.  
"I was suprised, though; hearing you equate any sort of 'sense of duty' with yourself."  
Okay, maybe he wasn't all that fun emoting.  
"I know you're joking, but you can be harsh..."  
"Who said I was joking?" Saix had the worst sense of humor of anyone Demyx had ever met, to the point where he almost believed that comment.  
"Actually, speaking of sudden urges to actually go on missions...You bring out the weirdest things in me! Yesterday I exercised, and last night I was even _thinking!_"  
"Oh, that is odd. Whatever am I doing to you?" Saix's perfect deadpan stun a bit, and Demyx wondered how he ever learned to read it at all. It's not like they'd been joking around like this very often. "Thinking, imagine... What were you thinking _of_, Demyx?"  
"Heeey, don't we have a mission to do? Defeating those enemies and all, am I right?" Demyx cut the conversation short for no real reason, running ahead while glancing again at the small cue card with his mission objectives, letting Saix catch up in his own time.


	6. Responsibility

Once again, Demyx found himself on the receiving end of Saix's barrage of rage-infused strikes, a thick wall of water the only thing separating him and oblivion. Even as he was almost becoming used to the experience, he noticed new things each time, through the cuts Saix's claymore made in the water, in the brief, clear glimpses of him before the wall collapsed on top of Saix and he had calmed down again.  
He could see now, as his eyes shone with an internalized moonlight, how unfocused his gaze was. Maybe he was still fooling himself, or maybe it was the water from his wall or sweat from the effort, but Demyx once thought he saw water streaming down his cheeks as well.  
Demyx felt oddly solemn, having finished his work, as the water crashed over Saix, the wave looking almost like a thick, translucent blanket that spread and frayed into waves at the edges. Saix didn't get up as the blanket became a lifeless, flat thing; more like a large puddle now that it was no longer being pulled by gravity. Demyx waited a moment before slowly approaching Saix, offering a hand to his comrade as well as a question he'd had on his mind since Saix's part of the mission had ended.  
"...Does it hurt? When I do that?"  
There was no response, and Demyx wondered if he'd get an answer. Demyx knelt down so he could brush his hand against Saix's, as if alerting him of its presence, while cold from the puddle he could have sent away seeped into his robe.  
"I'm fine."  
Saix, as if waking from a deep sleep, softly grasped Demyx's hand before letting go and lifting himself from the ground. Demyx glanced at him, but said nothing as he too got up and started heading in the direction of the RTC portal.

For once leading the way, Demyx lifted his hands behind his head in a show of nonchalance. After letting out a breath, he started talking loudly to the air in front of him.  
"I'm going to learn to control it. I'm sick of losing control of my own power. I mean, it's my ability, and my responsibility, and if I learn to control it then maybe I can fix it so it won't hurt so much, am I right?"  
"I'm _not_ weak." There was a furiosity in Saix's voice that made Demyx spin around, jumping back in fright.  
"You've gotten a big head lately, IX. I don't know where you got the idea that _I_ was _your_ responisbility, but you'd best drop it. Just because you've seen the drawbacks of my ability does not mean that you are better than me!"  
"Whoa whoa, I- when did I say that I was _better than you_? Calm down, guy, I was just showing a little concern! I-"  
"There is no reason for you to be concerned over me."  
With that, the portal opened, and Saix rushed through it with a speed Demyx was surprised he still had post-mission.


	7. Concerning the Past

"I should have switched partners when I had a chance! Jeez! Who thought this was a good idea? Not me! They could have picked anybody else- anyone else!"  
"Hey, could you quit whining over there?" Xigbar called from the other couch. Demyx had spent a good part of the evening sprawled out in the lounge mumbling to himself. "Oh, here comes the kid. I'm out." Xigbar lifted himself from his seat just as Roxas stopped in front of Demyx.  
"Whhhhhhhhyyyy meeeeeee?"  
Roxas looked down at him, looking blank and slightly curious as usual.  
"Hey, you're friends with Saix, right?"  
"WRONG." Demyx flipped over dramatically so his face was facing the back of the couch. Roxas seemed unperturbed.  
"But you're his partner, right? There's something I want to ask you about."  
"Ugh. No. Talking to you is boring and hard. Go away."  
Roxas didn't say anything, but he didn't go away either. Just stood there and stared. And probably wasn't going anywhere until Demyx said something.  
"... Fine. No one listens to me anyway."  
"Well, Axel said that Saix was upset that he wasn't partners with Axel, and I asked him why but he wouldn't tell me."  
"Well, because those two were friends, duh!"  
"Saix has friends?" A bit of muffled laughter could be heard somewhere in the room.  
"Hey, I thought you said Saix was my friend!"  
"Oh, right. Sorry." This kid had a way of never looking sorry.

"Okay so here's the story with those two. I don't actually know much about it because it was pretty much done by the time I showed up. So, like, you know how eight and seven come before nine?"  
"I can do math."  
"Just trying to make a point, jeez!" Demyx had rolled around again to face Roxas, and now he was lifting himself on an armrest to gain some height. "Okay... now how many members were there originally?"  
"Six. I thought this was going to be a story, Demyx, not a math lesson."  
"Geez! Here I am answering your question and you keep sassin' me!" Roxas looked like he wanted to retort, but realized how hard it was to get Demyx to do anything and held in his comment.  
"Right, so Axel and Saix showed up together, and they were the first newbies to show, right? So all of the original six just kinda stayed in their group, and those two never left each other's side. There were supposed to be inseparable, always really anti-social and whispering to each other and stuff. Lucky for them they had somebody to talk to, when I first joined the didn't let me into their little group- oh no!" Demyx saw Roxas's face change to impatience, clearly saying 'less you and more axel'. Demyx sighed. "So yeah, when I showed up the originals were thinking they were up to something, and pretty soon after that Saix started rising through the ranks and those two stopped associating so much."  
Roxas just nodded. Maybe he was planning on even adding a 'thank you', but he didn't get that far before someone entered the lobby.

"Funny, I thought I thought I heard my life story and here I find you two chatting.""Bye, Demyx." Roxas was on the retreat.  
"Waaaaaaitt, Roxas, don't leave me alone with him, he'll eat me!" Roxas showed no concern for Demyx's plea, and continued to power-walk out of the lobby so it was just Demyx and Saix by the couch.  
"So, are you going to offer any explanation? I'm pretty sure my personal matters don't concern you."  
"Ask him, not me." Demyx scowled at the armrest on the other side of the couch. So this was it, they were back to square one. It was like all that work they did together didn't mean anything anymore.  
That was it- work. It was work's fault.


	8. Concerning the Present

Okay so quick author's note: I'm thinking of changing the title (because every single fanfic of these two is about how the moon draws the see and so my title is seriously lame). I don't want to confuse anyone though so I'm gonna wait until after the next chapter is uploaded. (Just a warning: it will probably break any links if anyone has put any anywhere). I'm not completely sure what I want the new title to be, something along the lines of "Responsibility" or "Keep in Check". I'm really terrible with titles so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave them in the reviews, it'll be much appreciated!

* * *

"Really, Saix, did you have to be so hard on the guy?"  
"I don't remember inviting you in, Axel." Axel shrugged, walking casually into Saix's room, which was as grey and blank as every other room in The Castle That Never Was. Saix sighed, not entirely unused to Axel's surprise visits.  
"What is it you want?" Axel flinched in mock shock.  
"Me? Want something from you? Why, how cruel! I just heard that you and Demyx had a fight and got concerned. Is it wrong for a buddy to show some concern?"  
"We're hardly 'buddies' at this point."  
Axel's eyes hardened.  
"But that's all part of your plan, right?" Saix said nothing, and Axel sighed. "Look, you can afford to live a little, you know. You were having fun; you were emoting after missions! Do you think no one would notice? He was changing you-"  
"I have not changed!" Saix glared fiercely at his friend. The expression he received in return wasn't a good one, however, and he averted his gaze to the floor, muttering to it. "You're the one who's changed..." Axel let out another sigh, shifting his weight a bit.  
"Changing isn't always bad, you know."  
Axel looked like he wanted to leave, but when he didn't get a negative reply he kept going, the words probably long rehearsed in his mind.  
"It's good to let someone new in! You don't know what they can do to us- when I'm with Roxas I almost feel like I never lost my-"  
"You can't feel anything. And neither can he." Saix stood up from where he was sitting. "And don't think for a second that your comradeship with Roxas is anything like my relationship with Demyx." With an act of finality, Saix started heading for the door.  
"You're not fooling anyone, you know."  
Saix hesitated at the doorway for a second before sighing and twisting it open.  
"I know I can fool some people. I've fooled him, at least."

As Saix walked out of the room, Axel watched him go with a faint smile on his face.


	9. New Course of Action

A notice that with this chapter, the title of this fic will be changing! Yes, if you were wondering, this is the fanfiction that used to be titled "How the Moon Draws the Sea"!  
Sorry that this one took so long! OTL I am writing this as I go! As for the next chapter, I'm going on a trip for a little over a week, so while you'll have to wait, maybe I'll be hit with some inspiration! I'll be bringing a writing journal with me!  
Thanks to anyone that's read this far, and I'll hopefully see you next chapter!

* * *

The new mission details he'd gotten from the superior felt heavy in the Lunar Diviner's hands. At times like these, he had to make sure to shut the door quietly for fear of slamming it out of nonchalance.  
It was over.

Saix stepped into the main gathering area, clearing his throat in an attempt to swallow the lump that formed there.  
"Everyone," A few heads turned, and a few, Demyx included, didn't. "I have an announcement. We will no longer have assigned partners for missions; we are going back to individual missions except when necessary, and when that happens, the partners will be based on the mission at hand. Some of you have some individual missions today, and you will be going without your partners.. I'll call for you this time, but you're expected to come to me for your missions from now onwards." With that, he called several names, their owners then making their way over so he could hand them their new missions. Demyx seemed glad not to be one of the named, and his relief could be heard across the room.

Even though Axel was also not one of the ones getting a new mission, he made his way over after the others had left.  
"So, you gonna let it end this way?"  
Ah, sweet timing. So soon after their little squabble, one could easily assume that it was Saix that had decided to end the partner missions.  
"I didn't want this to happen."  
"Then what do you want to do?" Axel was giving him a grave look. Saix simply looked ahead of him in silence, his eyes unconsciously shifting to Demyx's form in one of the chairs.  
"... I'm going to leave." He looked over at Axel without a hint of emotion on his face. "I have a mission to go on too. Unlike some people, I don't like dilly-dally."  
"Ouch. Was that aimed at me, or him?"  
Saix waved off the comment, forming a portal and disappearing in it before Axel could make any further comments.

While he hadn't gone quite as frequently as when he was paired with Demyx, it wasn't as if Saix had never taken a solo mission. There was nothing unusual about it, though he was assigned less often then the others due to his administrative duties and his penchant indiscriminate destruction that made him unsuited to specific targets, or even combat where bystanders or allies were necessitated (though Demyx had somehow been able to get around all of that).  
Hard as it was to admit though, Demyx had lent him a sort of security that he was acutely without now.

The world he'd arrived in was well suited to Saix. It was spacious, empty, and dark. Nonetheless, these are the very things about it that unnerved him. It was quiet, forcing him to realize he had been used to having a conversational partner before the mission objective was found. Now he longed for a distraction as he felt the moon's power flowing into him, powerful and exhilarating but increasing far to much while the enemy wasn't in sight yet, and in such an empty place it was possible that his target was hiding or had some form of camouflage, a situation that would be harder to get around as the power rising in him began to make him anxious and scatterbrained.

A sudden movement caught his eye, and he was on it in an instant.  
His target emerged into view, previously camouflaged into the color and pattern of a large boulder. Saix released his weak control over his thoughts, and his berserker nature took over.  
No longer in control, Saix hardly distinguished between the enemy and the boulder it had disguised as. His mind was blank, his mighty sword hacked at both as if they were one and the same. When he tried to gain some semblance of thought, try to differentiate, the heartless would move behind the boulder and confuse his senses, leaving him to resort to a thoughtless tactic once again.  
At the back of his mind; the part that was still conscious during these ordeals, the part that kept the memory of his otherwise unconscious onslaughts; he was afraid. He was afraid because if his intelligence was at par with an overgrown heartless, then what would he do once he'd defeated his enemy? Would he continue to attack the rock, thinking the heartless still stood? He had done similar, in the past, with no one to call him off. He'd attack until his muscles could no longer carry him, then collapse in the middle of an unfamiliar world, weak and in the open, feeling pathetic and exhausted.  
_"With your special abilities...You might be the only one capable of stopping me."_

There was no one to stop him now. And he was afraid.

Saix emerged from the portal and into the castle, doing his best to look calm and emotionless. He assumed that most attributed his slow returns from missions to his high rank; perhaps it was an incredibly time-consuming mission compared to the others. It was only Axel that knew the truth.  
Or so he thought, but the look Demyx gave him when he entered the castle suggested otherwise, and the way he lifted himself up when their eyes met downright refuted it.  
Saix broke eye contact first, he tried to walk straight past him. Demyx only fell in beside him, walking casually but keeping pace with him every step of the way.  
"You took a while."  
Saix tried for that assumption that perhaps no one actually had.  
"It was a difficult mission."  
"Our missions never took that long." His reply came quickly, giving away his worry.  
"That's because you were along then." This was true, but there was a bit of bitterness in his voice. _Yes, because you were there to stop me._  
The tone in his voice seemed to stop him, though, because suddenly Saix was walking alone. Without thinking, he stopped as well, fighting the urge to look back.  
_"What do you want to do?"_  
Axel was right. Demyx was cowardly and discouraged; he wasn't about to go the extra mile for someone who had mistreated him. Whether he liked it or not, Saix had to do the apologizing, even if there was nothing he wanted to apologize for.

Saix was about to turn around, to find something to say, but the sound voice in front of him caused him to freeze.  
"Don't bother, he's already left."  
"... Axel, were you watching the whole thing?" At his question, Axel stepped into the hallway, having previously been out of sight around a corner.  
"Maybe, maybe not. What if I was worried about my ol' buddy, only to find someone had beaten me to the punch? I had to wait my turn in line."  
"Don't make me laugh." Saix felt jolted and irritable, still fatigued from his mission so that his body was as worn down as his patience. Perhaps Axel could tell, because he just sighed.  
"Look, you _do_ have to do something. But you don't necessarily have to do it today. Get some rest, don't wear yourself out."  
"Hmph, and here I thought you were going to give me some great life advice."  
"That was my advice. Go sleep on it so you don't do something stupid."  
"Glad to know you have confidence in me." Despite his sarcasm, Saix was glad for the way his friend seemed to know what was on his mind. At least, when he allowed himself to think of him as a friend.

If he allowed himself to believe he was still hanging onto one friend, who's to say he couldn't manage another.  
Who's to say he didn't want to?

The sense of vulnerability leaving with the return of his confidence, Saix continued down the hall, passing Axel with the comfort of a few hours to consider his course of action.


End file.
